


Minding the gap

by ladyprydian



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Brothers, Gen, Kid Fic, Kidlock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-28
Updated: 2013-07-28
Packaged: 2017-12-21 16:14:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/902285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyprydian/pseuds/ladyprydian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two brothers waiting for the tube.</p><p>Note: Please do not redistribute my fanfiction on other archives or sites without my express permission. Thank you</p>
            </blockquote>





	Minding the gap

**Author's Note:**

> Beta/Brit picker: [Kizzia](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Kizzia/pseuds/Kizzia). THANK YOU!
> 
> Author's Notes - Based entirely off of this absolutely gorgeous work of art [here](http://qed221b.tumblr.com/post/54859219332/alright-lets-see-if-this-works-my-first-attempt). Please give [qed221b](http://qed221b.tumblr.com) all the kudos for the art and not me. This is just a quickly written fic that was inspired by it.
> 
> Any remaining spelling, grammar and location errors are my own. Please, politely, point them out if you see any.

Mycroft Holmes doesn’t like taking the tube. 

Too much humanity all crammed together in too small of a space. Perfumes blending with cologne, B.O., food, dust and diesel exhausts. All of it blending together into a disgusting fug that permeates the carriages and platforms. Then there is the heat, bodies pressed together like sardines, all that breathing causing condensation adding a level of dampness to the train carriage. He always sneezed after he got out of the Tube station and his handkerchief would be black. Really, it was just disgusting. 

But here he was, waiting on a platform with his little brother. They had just come from the Science museum and were going home. It was only a twenty minute walk to their London house but he could tell that Sherlock was tired (even if he said otherwise) and those twenty minutes of walking would take more like thirty at Sherlock’s pace and be the difference between tired Sherlock and exhausted Sherlock. 

He wouldn’t wish “exhausted Sherlock” on his worst enemy.

So instead he made the decision to take the tube. It helped that Sherlock was 7, still just a boy, meaning his enthusiasm for trains remained strong. His baby brother’s barely supressed his excitement when Mummy said that they were to spend the summer hols in at the house in Kensington rather than Sussex. With Father away and Mummy’s hatred of driving, taking the train to London was the solution. Sherlock had bounced for hours when he found out that not only were they going to spend weeks and weeks (Sherlock’s wording) in London but they were taking the train as well.

“Is this our train, Mycroft?” Sherlock asked as a train blew into the platform. Leaning as far as he could over the yellow ‘Mind the Gap’ line and causing Mycroft to tighten his grip on his brother’s hand. 

Mycroft glanced up at the notice board. “No Sherlock, not this one. This train ends at Ealing Broadway, we want the next one that ends at Edgeware Road.” A swarming mass of humanity flowed out of the train carriages, brimming around and through the platform like a swarm of bees. 

“Oh” said Sherlock, his voice raised to an almost shout to be heard, his hand damp in Mycroft’s. “How long will it take to come?”

“Read the board, Sherlock, and tell me what it says.” Another crushing wave of people made their way into the train to replace the horde of people who had just left. 

“Two minutes.” Sherlock said over the automated messages reminding everyone to “mind the gap between the train and the platform”, to “stand clear of the doors” and that “customers wanting to go to the National History and Museum of Science should alight here and continue their journey on foot”.

“Then it will be here in two minutes.” Mycroft said as the platform calmed and the train pulled away. The gust of dirty wind that went with it tugged at their hair and clothes. Mycroft relaxed his grip on his brother’s hand after the train left. There would be less of a risk of Sherlock getting away from him with no crowd around. 

“Did you enjoy your day?” Mycroft asked.

“I really liked the mathematics and computing sections. ‘Specially Babbage’s Difference Engine No. 2. Do you think Father has books on Babbage?”

“I’m fairly certain he does. Pick up your bag Sherlock. We don’t want to leave it, the train is about to come.”

“I think I should like to read about Babbage to see if I want to be an inventor like him.” Sherlock said as he dropped Mycroft’s hand so he could shrug on his backpack. “Did you know that he is considered a ‘father of the computer’ and that his difference engine is what our computers are based off of? And that the museum made the difference engine on display, and that since it works it proves that Mr. Babbage’s design would have worked had he built one himself?” Sherlock said in one long, running, pause-less, sentence. 

“I did but I thought you wanted to be a pirate?” Mycroft asked when Sherlock paused for a necessary breath.

“I do.” Sherlock said after a moment. “Maybe I could be an inventor-pirate?” 

“I think you will be able to do exactly what you want to do. Hold tight to my hand, Sherlock.” Mycroft said taking his brother’s hand in his again as the train pulled up to the platform and they waited for people to exit. 

“Come, Sherlock,” Mycroft said giving his brother’s hand a gentle tug. “Mind the gap.”


End file.
